Label the Parts of the Speaker – Worksheet With a Key

All 17 parts on the diagram

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The driver, cut in half 12

Cone (diaphragm) Moves back and forth to make the sound waves.
Dust cap Keeps dust and dirt out of the gap below.
Surround Lets the cone move while holding it centred.
Spider Centres the voice coil and pulls the cone back to rest.
Voice coil former Carries the voice coil and joins it to the cone.
Voice coil Carries the signal; the magnet field pushes it.
Front plate (top plate) Concentrates the magnet's field across the gap.
Magnet Its field pushes against the voice coil's current.
Back plate Closes the magnetic circuit under the magnet.
Pole piece Carries the magnetic field up the centre of the gap.
Basket (frame) Holds the parts in line and bolts to the cabinet.
Terminals Where the speaker wires connect.

The cabinet 5

Enclosure (cabinet) Stops the back wave cancelling the front one.
Tweeter Plays the high notes.
Woofer Plays the low notes.
Port Lets air in and out of the box to strengthen the bass.
Crossover Splits the signal: lows to the woofer, highs to the tweeter.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. (1) A speaker maker's library, All About Speakers, https://www.mtx.com/library-speakers : driver components: motor (voice coil, pole piece, front plate, back plate, magnet), diaphragm (cone, dust cap), suspension (spider, surround), basket or frame, voice coil former; enclosures, crossovers. (2) A speaker maker's glossary, https://www.tedweber.com/glossary-of-speaker-terms/ : cone, voice coil, magnet, surround, spider, front plate, back plate, pole piece, basket, frame, former, terminals, cabinet, enclosure. (3) Wikipedia, Loudspeaker, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker : diaphragm or cone, dust cap, surround, spider (suspension), voice coil, magnet, pole piece, frame, enclosure or cabinet, woofer, tweeter, crossover, port. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Licence: own work

How it works

To label the parts of the speaker, write a name on the line for each number. Numbers 1 to 12 are on the driver, on the left. Numbers 13 to 17 are on the cabinet, on the right.

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Speaker word bank

In alphabetical order, to copy onto the board: back plate, basket, cone, crossover, dust cap, enclosure, front plate, magnet, pole piece, port, spider, surround, terminals, tweeter, voice coil, voice coil former, woofer.

Numbers that sit close together

At the rim, 3 is the rolled edge (surround) and 1 the slope under it (cone). Outside the cone, 11 is the frame (basket) and 12 the tabs on it (terminals). In the middle, 5 is the thin tube (voice coil former) and 6 the winding at its foot (voice coil). Below, 7, 8 and 9 are stacked: front plate, magnet, back plate, with 10 the post up the center (pole piece). On the cabinet, 14 is the small driver (tweeter) and 15 the large one (woofer).

When marking, diaphragm is right on line 1, top plate on line 7, frame on line 11 and cabinet on line 13.
For a first lesson, pick the 8 main parts under Start from: five driver parts, three cabinet parts.
The driver is cut in half, so most of its parts show twice, left and right of the center line. Each has one number.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between a speaker and a driver?

A driver is the single unit that turns the signal into sound: numbers 1 to 12 on this sheet. A speaker, or speaker system, is one or more drivers in an enclosure with their connections: numbers 13 to 17.

What is a two-way speaker?

A speaker whose drivers cover two ranges of sound: a woofer and a tweeter, as on this sheet. It has no mid-range driver, so those two share the middle of the range. A three-way speaker adds one.

What is a speaker enclosure made of?

Wood, but sometimes metal or plastic. The enclosure is often a rectangular box. It keeps the sound from the back of a driver from canceling the sound from its front, so its design plays a part in how the speaker sounds.

What is inside a speaker crossover?

A passive crossover is a circuit of resistors, inductors and capacitors that needs no power beyond the audio signal. It is commonly fitted inside the speaker box, which is why number 17 is drawn through a window.